


wax and wane

by oh_la_fraise



Series: cosmology [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves Centric, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Apocalypse, Sibling Bonding, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 15:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18552796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_la_fraise/pseuds/oh_la_fraise
Summary: Ben had thought the one advantage to being dead would be that he would never have to make awkward small talk with his in-laws.





	wax and wane

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I'd be listening to MCR ten years after my emo high school days but here we are.

Honestly, out of the many horrible things about being a ghost, the worst was that, for the vast majority of time, Ben was going out of his skull with boredom.

His main form of entertainment was binging tv when Klaus was together enough to remember to leave it on, and the cheesy pulp detective novel he’d had in his pocket when he’d died.If Five could have given Ben a heads up that he was going to bite the dust, Ben would at least have picked something deep and classy to read for the rest of eternity, like War and Peace or Hamlet; something that would have shown all the hot ghost chicks that we was a deep, soulful thinker.Instead, he’d practically memorized a cheap knockoff of the Firm. 

He also liked to people watch.There was an apartment near the rehab facility with a couple that was really into death metal and a crotchety elderly man that lived next door; that was always a good time.Or the diner near the budget strip club that always seemed to have some Jerry Springer special playing out no matter the hour.Ben had figured that whatever weird rules governed the afterlife didn’t allow him to stray too far from Klaus without a massive amount of effort, but one of the scant few perks of having a junkie brother was that were always entertaining people around.

But most of the time he was left following around Klaus like a shadow, watching his brother destroy his life.When Klaus narrowly escaped death by temporal assassins only to disappear into thin air, Ben had thought, _shit, this is it, I’m really alone now,_ and was momentarily embarrassed that his first reaction hadn’t been concern for Klaus.And when Klaus had returned, well.

He’d been stuck on that damn bus since Klaus had disappeared.Eventually, Ben knew he’d have to force himself to go somewhere else—to Allison or Diego, maybe—but that took an amount of effort that usually had him unable to appear for a few days.Plus, he was afraid if Klaus returned, Ben would have no way of knowing.

When Klaus did reappear, covered in blood and dressed oddly normally for Klaus, no one even took a second glance at the sudden appearance of a bloody twink in their midst. You had to love the city. 

Klaus didn’t seem to even be aware of Ben’s presence when he stumbled off the bus and threw the brief case before crumbling into the ground. _Shit._ Something obviously very bad had happened.Ben had a brief moment of panic that Klaus could no longer see him, but eventually, Klaus picked himself up and mumbled a quiet “hey,” in Ben’s direction before completely ignoring him and stumbling towards the Academy.

It wasn’t until Ben was trailing Diego, watching Klaus start a fight in a VFW and then saying _I lost someone_ in a quiet voice, that Ben began to put two and two together.The blood, the dog tags, the tattoos, the very un-Klaus-like green vest.Shit.

Then they got swept up in finding Luther (Ben had to very briefly watch Klaus die _again,_ which was really starting to get old), and then Ben _punched_ Klaus and they had to save the world from Vanya and his lil’ buddies were suddenly back, glowing blue with Klaus’s energy.It should have hurt—Ben screamed reflexively because he knew how bad it _did_ hurt—but the frustrating inability to feel any physical sensation lingered.

Then Allison disarmed Vanya.

Afterwards, sirens rang in the distance.Ben knew there would be reporters swarming outside the theater, drawn like flies to a carcass.“Fuck,” Diego said, drawing a hand slowly over his face.“What the fuck do we do now?”

“Even if there’s some way we can sneak out, we’re going to have to deal with them eventually,” Luther said, hesitant.

_Can you teleport her?_ Allison waved her notebook at Five.God, Ben missed her voice; she was the only one halfway sane amongst them. _We can tell them no comment for now.But they can’t know about Vanya._

“They’ll figure it out once reports of her losing her shit at her concert start getting out.” Diego said.

Luther shook his head.“It’ll buy us some time at least.But where do we take her?We can’t all fit in Diego’s apartment.”

At that, Klaus spoke up.“Dad had a second property on Irving.It’s not the Academy, but it’s big enough.”

“Near that big cemetery?”

Klaus’s lips thinned out.“Yeah.”

Five nodded, bending down and taking Vanya’s wrist in his hand.They disappeared in a flash, leaving the rest of the Hargreeves to stand in the now eerily quiet theater.“Now what?” Diego asked.

Klaus smirked.“There was a hot dog truck down the block. . .”

~

They managed to avoid the press through sheer luck—well, sheer luck and Luther having the idea of having Ben act as a scout.He felt a little trickle of delight at getting to be a part of the team again, and going ahead to look for cops was much more enjoyable than letting out Bert and Ernie.The perimeter that had been set up kept them from stealing the hot dog truck, much to Klaus’s dismay, so they made their way to Dad’s secondary place on foot, all of them stumbling with fatigue.Klaus was right—the house was smaller than the Academy, but somehow just as dour looking.It was a tiny, squat two story made of dark grey stone with an overgrown garden behind it, and it would have been unnerving even without the large cemetery butting up against the garden. 

Klaus froze in the entryway, and if Ben were solid, he would have walked straight into him.Klaus was pale—well, pale for Klaus—his hand clenching and unclenching at his side.“Klaus?” Ben asked.

Klaus shook his head and continued inside. Vanya was laid out on a couch in the foyer, still unconscious; Allison had pulled her head in her lap and was stroking her hair.They all looked up when Klaus approached—it seemed they’d waited for him to start the family meeting.

“I can take her somewhere safe,” Five said.In the half hour since they’d been separated, his busy brain had clearly been at work.“Help her train where it won’t hurt anything for her to make mistakes.”

“Are we sure that’s a good idea?” Ben asked.“She did just nearly destroy the entire planet.”He glared at Klaus until Klaus cleared his throat.“Ben wants to know if that is the wisest course of action, given, the, ah,” he curled his hands into fists and quickly threw them out, miming the sound of an explosion. 

Luther nodded.“Are you sure where you have in mind will be safe?”

“ _Wow,_ someone’s changed their tune,” Diego remarked. 

Luther raised his hands.“I was just trying to put her somewhere where she couldn’t hurt anyone until we figured out what to do.That obviously backfired, but given that she destroyed the room along with the mansion and Mom and Pogo, I think that’s still the goal here.If Five says he has a place and thinks he’ll be okay, that’s better than leaving her here in the open to destroy the world once she wakes up.”

“I’ll take her to somewhere in the middle of nowhere,” Five said.“I think her emotions are what drive her powers.Maybe if we can give her some time to calm down, we can work to her using them gradually without having to be frantic.”

Allison rolled her eyes and scribbled on her notepad.She held it up to the others. _Will she be okay?_

Five gave her a gentle smile.“I’ll take care of her.”

Allison held up her notepad again. _I’m coming with you._

Luther made a noise of protest, but Five cut him off.“The Commission is still out there.It’s going to be hard enough to jump with one person; I don’t know if I can handle two.”His face softened.“I care about her, too, Allison.”

Allison bit her lip, unconvinced.Klaus raised his hand.“Does that mean the Commission is still after the rest of us? _”_

“They’re going to be most interested in finding Vanya, and me by relation.If you all stay here and lay low, the risk should be minimal—their resources are a bit, ah, diminished at the moment, especially with Ben taking out their army.Plus, that’ll let you avoid the press.”

Diego sighed.“So I guess we’re doing this, then.”

“Be careful,” Luther said. _Keep her safe,_ Allison added.

“Tell Five they better come back alive because I have fifteen years of sibling drama to catch him up on,” Ben said to Klaus.Klaus laughed, but said, “Ben says you have to come back because he can’t be the only sane one.” At the mention of Ben, they all stared over Klaus’s shoulder.Ben sighed—he was standing next to Diego—but he appreciated the gesture none the less.

“We’ll be back,” Five said, and grabbed Vanya’s shoulder.They were gone in a flash of blue light a second later. 

~

Afterwards, there was a moment of awkward silence as they all tried to process what had happened.No one had moved, so eventually Luther shook his head. “Allison and I will go to the store and get enough supplies to last us a while.We can’t be leaving nilly-willy with the Commission still after us,” he said with a look at Klaus.“Diego and Klaus—can you guys get the place ready for us to use?Open the windows, put sheets on the bed?”

“Please bring back candy,” Klaus said with a nod towards Allison.After they’d left and Diego and Klaus had gotten the house as livable as possible, Ben trailing and teasing Klaus for not being able to put on a fitted sheet, Klaus turned to Diego.“I need you to help me find all of the shit in this house and get rid of it.”

Diego raised an eyebrow.“Come again?”

Klaus drug a hand over his face. “Booze, pain killers, the opium Dad would never admit he smoked occasionally. I’m trying _really_ hard to stick with this sobriety thing longer than five minutes, but being in this house is like doing an iron man after I’ve just learned to walk.”

“Okay,” Diego said. He frowned.“When you say this place is especially hard for you, what do you mean?”

Klaus fidgeted, looking down at his feet.“Oh, you know, Daddy dearest’s memory.”

“Klaus,” Ben and Diego said at the same time.

Klaus sighed.“That room dad built for Vanya—let’s just say it wasn’t the only special place Dad created.”

Horror dawned on Diego’s face.“The cemetery. . .”

Klaus shrugged, not meeting either of their eyes.“There’s a mausoleum near the center with _very strong doors.”_

Diego didn’t respond, but he clapped Klaus on the shoulder, and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.Klaus sighed, sinking down onto the bench in the foyer, and Ben moved to stand over him.“I’m proud of you,” he said.

Klaus chuckled.“Let’s see how it goes for a few days before we start making grand declarations.”

Ben swallowed.“So, about what happened earlier—“

“ _Shit,”_ Klaus swore, sitting up suddenly.“Are you okay?I forgot how painful it was for you to—”

“I’m fine,” Ben raised his hand placatingly.“Honestly, I think was screaming out of habit.I couldn’t really feel anything.”It had been over ten long, _long_ years since he’d felt hot or cold or pain or pleasure or anything but the slightest pressure when he drifted too far from Klaus.He thought he’d never enjoy the agony of opening a portal, but in a masochistic sense he almost missed it.Ben would kill to feel _something._

“Fuck, sorry, man.But—” Klaus’s face split into a wide grin, “how _badass_ were we?We brought down a group of inter-dimensional assassins by ourselves.Five couldn’t do that.Diego and Luther couldn’t do that.”

Ben couldn’t help but grin.“It was pretty awesome.”

“ _Pretty awesome?_ You and I just saved the world, mon frere.That’s better than pretty awesome.”

~

Eventually Allison and Luther returned, the car they’d found in the house’s small garage weighted down with enough supplies that Ben was surprised it wasn’t dragging the ground.Klaus whistled.“How did you pay for all of this?”

“I can be convincing when I want to be,” Luther replied.Allison smacked him on the arm.Judging by the pissed off look on her face, she hadn’t quite forgiven him for his sneak attack earlier.“Fine, we used Allison’s credit card.”

The group focused on unloading everything, Ben once again left to stand around helplessly as everyone else worked.After, Diego boiled enough pasta to feed an army, and Allison headed to bed, shoving Luther towards the pile of dirty dishes.Diego laughed as he and Klaus headed into the living room.“Man, he’s in the doghouse.”He stopped, staring at the small tv in the corner.“Hey, is Ben here?”

Klaus glanced at him.“Yeah.Why?”

Instead of responding, Diego reached out and pushed Klaus gently to the couch.“Tell him to sit down.”

Ben stared at Klaus, who looked who just as confused, before obliging and settling on the opposite side of Klaus.Diego turned around to fiddle with the tv before heading back to the couch.He sat down right down on top of Ben; Ben sighed, annoyed at being relegated to the middle seat.

“What—what is going on, buddy?”Klaus finally asked.

“They made movies of Lord of the Rings.” Diego responded.

“Oh my god, really?” Ben asked.He and Diego and Luther had always been the geeks of the family—they’d spent hours as kids, reading sci-fi and acting out stories while Allison and Klaus and Vanya had fussed over clothes and makeup. Five had been a classic nerd, too above them all working on complex physics to deign to play elves and dwarves or barbies.Klaus hadn’t gotten any better taste as he’d gotten older, and while he was courteous enough to play movies for Ben when he as somewhere stable enough to have a TV, it was usually geared towards Klaus’s interests more than Ben’s.

“Okay,” Klaus said, rolling his eyes as the movie started up.“I’ll leave you dorks to it,” he said, rising off the couch.

Diego tugged the back of his shirt, pulling him back down onto the couch.“You’re not going anywhere.I have a lot of _thoughts_ about this movie, and I want to know what Ben thinks.”

“I charge by the minute,” Klaus grumbled, but sat back down anyway.

“Anyway, can you materialize him?” 

“Sorry—it took a fuck ton out of me to do it earlier.I think I’m still on the learning curve with this one.” Klaus frowned, looking at Ben. 

“It’s okay,” Diego said.“But tell him he has to sit bitch.”

“ _He_ can hear you,” Ben said, rolling his eyes.It was. . .nice, being included.Even if he couldn’t talk directly to Diego, he still enjoyed it.

“He said he’d be delighted,” Klaus said, and Ben thrust his elbow into his side, a little note of disappointment running through him when his arm went right through.

It wasn’t long past the credits before Klaus slumped over the arm of the couch, snoring loudly.He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said materializing Ben had taken a lot out of him; Ben had seen him trembling after, and for once Ben didn’t attribute that to withdrawal.

Diego looked over, rolling his eyes.“How does someone so skinny snore _so_ loudly?He’s worse than Luther, I swear to god.”

“I always thought it was the drugs,” Ben responded, even if Diego couldn’t hear him.‘But now I think it’s just Klaus.Maybe it’s his German genes.”

“I guess it’s not the pills—maybe it’s genetic,” Diego continued.Ben snorted. 

Diego bit his lip.He had that look in his eye, the one that said _I’m going to say something deeply heartfelt and uncomfortable,_ and Ben couldn’t help but wince.“I’m sorry, man.That we didn’t believe Klaus when he said you were here.You have to understand—Klaus lied about shit _all the time._ He’d say anything if it got him high.And we didn’t seriously think there was an exception to the whole ‘no ghosties while toasties’ rule.It wasn’t because we didn’t want it to be true.”

Diego huffed.“Fuck, I don’t even know if you’re still here.Does it work like that—do you still get to hang around if Klaus is asleep?I guess if you stuck around all the drug shit, that’d make sense.Or am I just talking to myself?”

“I’m still here,” Ben said.Klaus shifted, muttering something under his breath.

“Anyway, we missed ya man.I’m sorry your ass is stuck interacting solely with Klaus for God knows how long, but it’s good to have you back.”

“I miss you guys too,” Ben said.He’d give anything right now, to be able give Diego a hug.

“So. . .” Diego leaned back.“I’ll haul his ass to bed after the movie is over.I want him to be awake for the second one—I gotta hear what you have to say about Helm’s Deep.”

~

Klaus managed to sleep through Diego picking him off the couch and carrying him down the hall, but he awoke with a start when Diego laid him—more tenderly than Diego would ever admit—on the bed.“What—”

“Easy,” Diego said.“I’m just putting you to bed.You can’t hang anymore, old man.” 

“You summon a tentacle monster and see how you feel.”

“ _I_ summoned the monster,” Ben said, offended.

“You didn’t summon the monster; Ben did.”Diego said.

Klaus rolled his eyes.“Both of you with your technicalities.I summoned Ben and he summoned the monster; ergo, through the transitive property I did it.”

Diego squinted and shook his head.“Okay, I’ve had enough of you.Good night.”

“Goodnight brother dearest!Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!” Klaus sang as Diego left, shutting the door behind him.Klaus sat up, swinging his feet onto the floor.“Okay, time to get to work.”

“Do I want to know?” Ben asked.

“I’m going to summon Dave.If I can make you _solid,_ surely I can summon his ghost.”

Klaus closed his eyes, holding his clenched fists up like he had when materializing Ben earlier.He grunted a little, shaking his fists, but there was no blue glow.He cracked an eye open.“Shit.Got any ideas?”

Ben shrugged.“Maybe, focus on what you love about him?”

Klaus closed his eyes again in concentration.Nothing changed, but after a minute, sweat began to bead on Klaus’s forehead.He whimpered a little, and then slumped, eyes opening again.They were suspiciously moist.“Everything okay?” Ben asked.

“I just, uh, went a little too far down memory lane,” Klaus said.He stared down at his twitching hands, and Ben remembered when Klaus had reappeared on the bus, covered in blood.“Do you mind giving me a minute alone?”

“You can try again tomorrow, when you’re more rested.” Ben soothed.

“I’m not gonna get high,” Klaus reassured Ben’s unspoken fear, voice cracking.“I just—just _please_ give me a minute.”

Klaus looked so pathetic, tears starting to run down his eyes, that Ben couldn’t help but acquiesce. 

He slipped through the walls to wonder the ground of their new home base.Even though the house was smaller, the large gardens surrounding it made it feel more remote than the Academy that had been in the middle of the city.He lost himself a little bit, and when he came back, he was standing in front of a small decrepit stone building.He’d reached the edge of the property, where it lost its charming views and started to edge into the local cemetery.There weren’t any windows, but there was a single entrance, several heavy deadbolts running down the side.

_There’s a mausoleum near the center with very strong doors,_ Klaus had said.Ben swallowed.It looked harmless, but Dad wouldn’t have forced Klaus into it if it was harmless.He took a deep breath and veered sharply away.He didn’t need a refresher of the horror of the dead anymore than Klaus did.

It started to rain, so Ben ducked into a charming little alcove with a bench under an orange tree.He sat for a minute, wishing he could feel the rain drops dripping through the foliage. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and Ben froze, afraid the ghosts were following him and he was going to lead them right back to Klaus.Klaus’s new sobriety was as fragile as glass, and the last thing Ben wanted was to take him on a trip down memory lane.He stared, trying to identify the source of the movement in the pouring rain; there was something black, huddled at the base of one the trees.Rat, he figured, but then he looked a little closer.It was a kitten, the rain soaking its orange and black fur. 

“Here kitty kitty.”Ben crouched, reaching out his hand out of habit. The cat stared vaguely in Ben’s direction, meowing pitifully.

“You’re a sweet boy, huh?” Ben cooed.It was shivering, trying to hide from the rain.Its eyes were blue; he couldn’t have been very old. 

He stood, decision made, and headed back to the house.

Klaus was laying on the bed when he returned; his eyes were a little red, but it seemed the emotional jag had passed.“I need a favor.Get your rain coat and come with me.” 

“It wouldn’t hurt you to say please,” Klaus responded, but he got up and followed Ben none-the-less.Ben led him back to the tree, where, much to his relief, the cat was still curled up at the base of the tree.“What. . .what am I supposed to be doing here?”

“Take him inside,” Ben said.“He’s freezing and probably starving.”

Klaus shook his head.“Nuh-uh.That thing is a walking bag of ticks and fleas.”

“Klaus, can you do this, please?”Ben’s voice cracked a little, and Klaus stared before sighing.

“Fine. C’mon furball.”He approached the kitten, hand held out the way Ben’s had been earlier.The cat cowered back. 

“Be gentle,” Ben said.“Let him come to you.”

“Let him—“ Klaus sighed.“It’s too cold for this.Okay, cat.”He lunged forward suddenly; the cat jumped, but before it could scurry away, Klaus grabbed it and curled it to his chest.“Son of a bitch, the asshole scratched me.”

“Klaus!”

“Fine, fine, I’m going.”Klaus marched back to the house, the cat fighting him the whole way.He dropped the cat on the bed in his room; it jumped off immediately, but Klaus had, in a rare moment of foresight, shut the door, so the only place it could go was under the bed. 

“So. . .now what,” Klaus said, staring at the spot where the kitten had disappeared.Ben wondered if he asked Klaus to make him corporal, Klaus would try without asking why.Ben really wanted to slap Klaus right now.

Thankfully, they were interrupted by a soft knock at the door.Klaus opened it; Allison was standing there.She held up her notepad; her voice had started to come back a little, but she sounded raspy and hoarse any time she did, and talking more than a sentence or two seemed to wear her out. _Will you paint my nails?_ it read.

Klaus sighed.“As much as I would prefer that over what I’m currently doing, I have to get a kitten out from my under my bed.”At Allison’s skeptical glance, he continued, “It’s not a sex thing. Ben had me save it from the rain.”

Allison raised an eyebrow, and then scribbled down on her notepad. _What’s his name?_

Klaus looked at Ben expectantly.“Snickers,” Ben decided, thinking about the way the brown and caramel mixed in his fur. 

“Really?” Klaus asked.A little too disdainfully in Ben’s opinion, given that he’d somehow found sweatpants that said _Baby Gurl_ across the ass.

“Snickers,” Klaus said, turning to Allison. 

Allison scribbled again, this time for longer. _Dad always had kitty litter around for the front stoop in the winter, and we got some turkey at the store earlier—that’ll hold him over for now._

_“_ Finally, someone with a brain,” Ben said, relieved.Klaus huffed.“Ben says thank you,” he translated.He headed back towards the door.“I’m going to get the monster something to poop in.”

Allison nodded, but instead of following Klaus, she laid down on the floor, peering under the bed.She stretched her hand out much the way Ben had earlier.After a second, she smiled widely—Ben squatted down, and he could see Snickers tentatively sniffing Allison’s hand. 

“That’s a good boy,” Allison crooned, voice still hoarse.Snickers retreated and Allison sat up.“He’s sweet, Ben,” she said.Unlike Diego, she didn’t seem to question whether he was still around.“I’ll make sure he gets warm and some food, and that Klaus doesn’t kill him.”

“Thank you,” Ben said.

Allison laughed.“Claire always wanted a cat, but Pat’s allergic.I can’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed myself.”She fell silent, and Ben assumed she was thinking about her daughter. 

“Can you imagine if Reginald could see us now?” he asked.“He’d die all over again if he knew we’d brought an animal into his house.”

Allison laughed. Ben wasn’t sure at what, but he pretended for a minute it was at him.

~

Eventually, Klaus returned with the supplies, and Allison directed him to set them up in her room.She managed to coax Snickers out from under the bed and took him to the bathroom to give him a bath in the sink, Ben standing anxiously over her shoulder the whole time.Snickers was obviously too frightened and weak to fight much, but he did give Allison a couple good scratches; she winced, but carried on gently washing Snickers and picking off fleas.Afterwards, she gave him a good drying with a towel, making him fluff up in a way that Ben couldn’t help but smile at.He fled under Allison’s bed, and when Ben stuck his head down underneath to check on him a little later, Snickers was fast asleep.

Ben floated around for the rest of the night, checking on his sleeping siblings one by one.It was a little creepy, he supposed, but after everything that had happened, it made him feel at ease to know they were okay.Luther was on his stomach, hairy shoulders unhidden in the privacy of his bedroom; Ben was surprised his snores hadn’t woken everyone in the house up.Diego was curled tightly in the fetal position, clutching a pillow in a death grip; he looked almost harmless like this, but Ben knew there were about a million sharp and pointy things tucked away under the pillows and mattress.Allison was sleeping on her back, completely still, arms by her side—Ben had a horrible image of her in a coffin, throat slashed wide open, and had to reassure himself that her chest was rising and falling.Klaus slept like he lived—in complete chaos.His head was hanging off the side of the bed, the covers were somehow completely wrapped around one arm, and one foot was propped vertically on the headboard.He twitched a little, murmuring something under his breath.

Ben wondered if Vanya and Five were safe and sleeping peacefully, wherever they were.Somehow, he doubted it; when Five had first returned, Ben had watched him sleeping in bursts, sitting up, on edge for anything to happen.Vanya had always slept on her side, silent and still.

After he was done with his rounds, Ben paced through the house until he stumbled upon Snickers, who had ventured out and was now chasing around a stray bread tie in the kitchen.Ben slid down until he was seated on the floor, back propped up against the wall, as Snickers stumbled around, unaware of his companion.It was nice, watching something so charming and mundane; Ben lost track of time a little, zoning out the way he did when he wasn’t focused on being corporal.By the time he blinked back into awareness, sunlight was starting to stream into the kitchen, and Ben could hear heavy footsteps.He froze, not sure if it was the Commission on their tail; before he could try to bolt and warn Klaus, Luther stumbled in, yawning and scratching his ass. 

“Cat,” Luther said, raising an eyebrow at Snickers, who immediately skittered away.“Why is there a—“He sighed and moved on, stumbling to the coffee. 

After he’d downed two cups of coffee and stared into space for twenty minutes, he shook his head and started raiding the fridge.Ben felt a little guilty, watching as Luther pulled out eggs and bacon and milk unaware of an audience—Luther was singing under his breath, and Luther was _not_ the most on key of voices.About halfway through his mangling of _In the Zone,_ Diego coughed.Luther whirled; an egg went flying, smashing into floor.

Diego raised an eyebrow.“That the way you cook breakfast?”

Luther didn’t respond, gesturing to Snickers, who’d gradually gone back to his bread tie.Diego cooed, squatting down and clicking his fingers.“I think Klaus brought in a stray.”

“Nah, man, Klaus would be bitching about the fur.He hates animals,” Diego responded, stroking his hand down Snicker’s back.“He’s clean; Allison must have done it.”

Luther shook his head.“She would have told me first.Maybe it’s a spy from the Future?”  


They both cocked their heads at Snickers considering.Ben exhaled heavily.“I can’t believe I wasted my ‘you dumbass’ punch on _Klaus._ ” 

After a minute, Luther turned back to where he’d been chopping veggies.“Help me toast the bread, would you?”

“What’cha doing, big guy?” Diego asked cautiously, standing back up.

“Making breakfast.”

“Our fucked up family nearly _destroyed the world,_ and you think breakfast will fix it?” Diego asked.But there was a slight tease in his voice, and he started popping slices in the toaster. They bickered quietly until Allison walked in, eyeing them warily.Her face split into a grin, though, when Snickers ran up to her.Klaus trailed behind.“Oh, yay, the furball is still here.”

Luther and Diego both stared.“When did you get a cat?”

“God, this is gonna get old,” Klaus murmured under his breath, nodding toward where Ben was standing.“It’s Ben’s.He saw the drenched rat outside last night and made me bring him in.” 

“Ben’s here?”

Klaus looked at him and nodded.Luther winced.“Uh.How long?”

Ben smirked.“Long enough for him to sing Toxic twice.”

Klaus’s face split into a cheshire grin.“He says he was around for the Britney concert.”

Breakfast was eaten in silence, but it seemed to have less of an edge than normal.After, Allison and Klaus worked on clearing the table, while Diego and Luther fought over the last of the bacon.Eventually, everyone settled to separate parts of the house, looking for entertainment to keep time until Five returned.Ben followed Klaus, who shut the door to his room and sat on the floor.“Any new ideas?” 

“Vanya’s powers are tied to her emotions, right?Maybe yours are too.” Ben asked.“You were pretty worked up the two times you materialized me.”

“Yeah, but I’m emotional _all the time.”_

_“_ Maybe if you have something to focus on,” he shrugged.“Like his dog tags?”

Klaus nodded, staring down at the tags clutched in his hands.Nothing happened except for Klaus looking constipated—there wasn’t a rush of energy or a sudden awareness of change like there had been at Icarus.But when Ben looked up, there was a man standing there, looking confused, but he was also grinning.The green vest and pants and the bullet hole in the center of his chest gave Ben a pretty big clue as to this was, but when he looked back at Klaus, Klaus had a small smile on his face, and his eyes were suspiciously wet.

It was . .weird, seeing Klaus so soft.Disconcerting, even.Klaus had always been one of the most emotional of their group, being affectionate and bratty in turn, but Ben had never seen him look so gently, quietly happy.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said, slipping out of the room.

He wandered around the house.Diego and Luther were sparring—there were a few cuts and bruises, but they were both alive and conscious, so Ben figured they weren’t on the verge of killing each other just yet.Allison was asleep in her room, Snickers curled up contentedly on her chest.

Ben sighed, heading outside to sit on the bench he’d taken to hanging out on when he wasn’t in the house.He was happy for Klaus.He really was.It was just.. .

It was just, he’d spent _ten years,_ begging his brother to get sober.He was Ben’s only connection to the world, and it wasn’t like he wanted to see Klaus OD for good besides.He’d watched, unable to do anything as Klaus had lied and cheated and stolen his way to his next high.And after being without Dave for a _week_ , Klaus had gone cold turkey.And now Dave was around, presumably for a while, with all of Klaus’s attention on him.

Was Ben. . . was Ben jealous that his brother had another ghost friend?

As if Ben had summoned him, Dave was suddenly standing before him.“Hey, you’re Klaus’s ghost brother, right? _Please_ be the ghost brother and not just me talking to myself.Klaus fell asleep and I am freaking out a little bit right now—“

“Hi,” he said, waving a hand.“I’m Ben.Klaus’s brother.”

“Are you the . . .knife one?” Dave squinted. Dave sunk to the bench, hitting it with a mild _thump._ Ben was a little jealous—it had taken him a while to stop sinking straight through chairs onto the floor.Never through the floor, though; it seemed even ghosts had to obey certain laws of physics.

“Nope, I’m the dead monster-summoning one.”

He swallowed, looking pale.“Mon—monsters?”

“Yeah, you missed a lot.”  


After Ben had explained everything—his time-traveling brother, the agency trying to kill them, how Vanya had almost destroyed the world with just a violin—Dave, pale, leaned back. “So. . .time travel is real.And ghosts are real.”

“Don’t forget superheroes,” Ben added. 

He exhaled shakily.“Fuck.”  


Ben laughed.He supposed if Dave was going to stick around Klaus, it was good that he seemed to be able to roll with the punches.“Yeah, that about sums it up.”

~

As the days passed, Klaus’s ability to materialize them grew slowly, to the point where he could last about twenty minutes before the pain and exhaustion made him stop.Ben had been able to have quick conversations with his siblings here and there; so far, Luther had lifted him off the ground he’d hugged Ben so hard, Allison had lost the ability to speak for almost a day she’d cried so hard, and he and Diego had practiced their secret handshake for ten straight minutes.On the flip side, Ben had been horrified to find out that Klaus was capable of materializing Dave just long enough for some making out.He’d walked in on them twice now, and he’d learned the hard way to do a verbal knock before walking through Klaus’s door. 

The Hargreeves siblings were starting to get restless, trapped in the small house with little reprieve.With Vanya and Five still in the wind and the Commission still at large, everyone was still staying on the grounds, but it was obvious cabin fever was setting in.Diego and Luther had all but lost the bit of fondness they’d found for each other, and seemed only a matter of time before one of them pushed too far and the other snapped.Allison was able to talk a little more, now, but she kept mostly to herself, playing with Snickers or thumbing the picture of Claire she kept in her wallet.Dave was understandably focused on Klaus, but occasionally when Klaus was asleep or tied up with one of the other siblings, Ben and Dave would pass the time, talking about everything from their favorite foods to the meaning of life.Ben had become fond of Dave—he was a genuinely good and funny person, and he was good for Klaus.

And as the days passed and Klaus’s abilities began to grow, the ghosts began to trickle in. So far, Ben and Dave had been able to keep them away without Klaus being too aware of it, but with the cemetery nearby, it was only a matter of time.

One day, a woman appeared, trailing silently behind Diego.She had a wound in her chest not unlike Dave’s; they really needed a little variety in their murder victim clique, Ben thought.Dave went to shoo her off, but Ben put a hand up, squinting at her.

_Shit._

Klaus cocked his head the second Diego was out of eyesight. “You look familiar.Do I know you?”  


Ben sighed, rubbing his forehead.“She’s the cop that rescued you, dumbass.”

“Eudora Patch.”She looked sad, and it fit oddly on her face—she didn’t seem like the person who would have been sad for long in life.

“Oh. _Oh._ Fuck,” Klaus swore.Dave looked between the three of them, obviously confused.“Uh.I’m. _Fuck,”_ he said again.“I’m sorry I got you killed?”Dave’s head whipped around so fast it probably would have broken if he’d been alive.

She gave a small smile, and it looked so much more at home on her face.“It’s. . .Well, I’m dead, so it’s not great, but it’s not really your fault either.I was doing my job, and I always knew there was a chance I’d go out that way.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t also have to run the second he could have,” Ben added.Klaus rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue, which for Klaus was as close to agreeing as he got.

“Uh, given. . . _that,_ ” Klaus said, “is there anything I can do for you to uh, help you move on? Some unfinished business or something?”

She shook her head.“I think I’m tied to Diego or something.”

“Shit,” Klaus said, this time genuinely remorseful.“I could let you talk to him, if you want?”

“I don’t want to upset him when he’s finally starting to bounce back.Just. . .just make sure his dumb ass doesn’t get into too much trouble, okay?It’s nice having a break from him for a while.”She managed a small laugh, and Ben immediately understood why Diego had been so crazy about this girl.He’d bet they’d been a pair together. 

“Okay,” Klaus said, oddly serious.He looked at Ben and Dave with a question in his eyes, and Dave cleared his throat.“Hi.I’m Dave.Klaus’s. . .I’m with Klaus,” he said.He blushed a little.“If you’re stuck following Diego around anyway, maybe you’d like to hang out with us?When we’re in range; we can’t go too far from Klaus.”Dave waved a hand to gesture at Ben, and Ben realized this girl had no idea who _he_ was.

“Hi,” he said, raising a hand.“I’m Ben; Klaus’s brother.And Diego’s brother.”

She squinted.“How many brothers does Diego _have?”_

“Well, there’s five of us, and then we have two sisters.” Klaus said.

“Jesus,” she whistled.

~

Patch came and went after that; she wasn’t around as much as Dave and Ben were, but she kept them company occasionally.Ben really liked her.She was funny and smart and a lot more comfortable making snarky remarks about Ben’s siblings than Dave, who was almost pathologically nice.It was just Ben and Dave, though, when Allison appeared at Klaus’s door, wrapping her knuckles on the frame.“Spa day?” she asked, raising a basket filled with cosmetics. 

Klaus threw a brief glance at Dave, and Ben felt his metaphorical hackles rise.There was a lot of truly dumb shit to judge Klaus for, but enjoying make up and nail polish wasn’t one of them.It wasn’t a secret—Klaus walked around barefoot all the time and his toes were covered with a burgundy polish, and he applied his eyeliner more often than not, but Ben wasn’t afraid to play the protective brother card even if there wasn’t much he could truly do about it.

But Dave just laughed.“If you do do make up half as badly as you load a gun, that poor girl is in trouble.”

“I’ll have you know my skill is unrivaled,” Klaus said snootily, waving Allison in.

She laughed.“Fighting with Ben again?”

“No, it’s Dave being an asshole this time.Truly, Allison, you are the only person who appreciates my sparkling personality.”Klaus took her hand in his and picked out a deep teal polish.“I hope you’ve learned to hold still better in your old age.”

“Watch it,” Allison said, but there was no heat to it.

“Also, you’re technically older than her now,” Ben reminded him.Klaus rolled his eyes but didn’t respond, carefully apply the brush to Allison’s thumb. 

Allison opened her mouth and then closed it.Finally, she spoke carefully.“How’s the sobriety treating you?”

“It is an utter delight, my dear.I’m not wanting a high the least bit.”

She frowned.“The ghosts are back that badly?”

Klaus frowned.“It’s not the — it’s the ghosts, yeah, but it’s mostly the _boredom._ It’s worth it to be able to see Dave, but I’m losing my fucking mind staying still like this.”He threw a brief glance at Dave, and Ben felt that, regardless of the fact that Allison knew they were there, he was intruding on something he shouldn’t be.

“I get it,” Allison said.“I’ve been able to talk to Claire a few times, but I’ve never been away from her from this long.At least before, with Five, we had a cause to work toward.Now we’re just . . .stuck waiting.”

Klaus nodded, and Ben stood from where he was sprawled on the floor.“I’m going to hang out in the gardens,” he announced, and stepped out of the room. 

It wasn’t long before Dave approached.“Mind if I sit here?” he asked.Ben waved him ahead. 

After a minute of silence, Dave looked down, poking the gaping wound in his chest.“It makes a cool sound,” he said.Sure enough, it squished with a wet pop.“I can’t do it around Klaus, cuz, you know,” he waved his hand as if to say _Klaus’s lingering trauma over watching me die, “_ but it’s kinda cool.”

“This one guy, a few years after I died, he’d had his stomach ripped open, ya know?” Ben said.“Had like, guts hanging everywhere.Klaus was in rehab at the time, so there was a little fan club following him around by that point.Anyway, I guess this guy had tripped over his guts one too many times, so one day he just picks them and ties them around his chest like a sash.It was. . .Well, it was gross as hell, but it was also pretty funny.”

Dave chuckled, and then bit his lip.He was obviously trying to get up the nerve to ask something, and Ben had an idea of what it was.“How come you don’t have any wounds?Were you poisoned?”

“No.Ah.”Ben paused.Even with all the time _being dead_ gave him for introspection, Ben had never really made peace with this.“So, my power—I can summon monsters, right?I uh, I lost control one day, and the monsters. . .went a little crazy.”

“The nearest Klaus and I can figure, there was nothing left of me to manifest, so I just appear how Klaus thinks of me.We think that’s why I’ve aged, too—I was a teenager when I got Cthulu’d.”

Dave inhaled through his teeth.“Jesus, I’m sorry.It must have been hard; having to keep something that. . .evil under wraps all the time.”

“I don’t think they were malevolent,” Ben said.“Just. . .confused by our world.”He had always been able to sense vague emotions from the monsters, and it was mostly _curiosity._ “I don’t think they meant to hurt me.”He still got drifts from them every now and again, although not as strong as when he’d been alive.He thought they were sorry for what had happened.

Dave hummed.“God, tentacle monsters under your skin.What a fucking world.I guess at least the Kraken is cool nickname, so you got something out of it.”

“No, I was the Horror.Really great for my self esteem.Diego’s the Kraken—he’s got this weird thing where he can’t drown.”

“Right,” Dave said, a note of bemusement in his voice.“And Klaus was. . .the Sèance?Who picked these names?”

“They were kind of a media thing.We got a kick out of them, mostly.Klaus started making everyone say it as _Seyoncè_.Like Beyoncè.”

Dave stared.“Who?”

“Oh, you don’t—shit.I am about to change your life.”Ben grinned.“Allison and Klaus are going to love this.”He held out his hand in a fist, still grinning.Dave, obviously even more confused, tapped it.“Ghost bros,” Ben declared.

~

That night, as Dave tried and failed to talk Klaus through making meatloaf, while Ben and Diego mocked him and Patch kept telling him to put the wrong ingredients in, Luther entered the kitchen with a look on his face that virtually guaranteed something idiotic was about to happen.Sure enough, he paused, and said “—I think we should summon Leonard Peabody.”

Everyone stared.“. . .You’re kidding, right?”Diego asked.The _you idiot_ was implied, which made Luther’s hackles raise.“We never figured out what he wanted—”

“Five bucks on Diego,” Klaus said under his breath to Ben, meatloaf forgotten.Diego’s and Luther’s voices were getting louder and louder; Allison was probably trying to hide and stay out of the drama, Ben figured.Smart woman.“I’ll take that,” Patch responded.

Klaus looked at her with sardonic glee.“Betting against your boyfriend, wow.”

Ben watched his brothers carefully.Luther was starting to go a little red in the face, temple throbbing, and Diego was clenching and unclenching his hand, eyeing the butcher knife that had been left on the island.“Materialize me,” Ben said, turning to Klaus.Klaus raised an eye brow.“ _Now.”_

He felt the floor beneath him grow a little more real; the faint humming sound made Luther and Diego pause, looking at him.Ben took the opportunity.“Jesus _fuck,_ you two, get a hold of yourselves.”He whirled to Diego.“He was abandoned completely by himself for _four years_ after Dad mutilated him.He’s been through some shit; give him a break if his first idea isn’t always his brightest.”

“And _you,”_ he said, switching to Luther.“I get that Dad made you feel that you were responsible for every single thing that happened, but occasionally other people do know what the fuck they’re talking about.Summoning Leonard Peabody is a _terrible_ idea, and if you’d pull your head out of your ass for five seconds, you’d realize it.”

“Man, I don’t remember you being this cranky,” Diego said eventually. 

“Now you get it!” Klaus responded. 

“You two are family.You get to be together.Don’t ruin it by being assholes.”

He stormed off into the foyer, trembling a little with rage.“Uh, so, Ben left,” he heard Klaus say.“And I’m pretty sure the meatloaf was inedible before you came in here, so—“ Ben didn’t hear the rest, because he was already on the move, fading back to his non-solid state.Instead of going to Klaus’s room, he made a beeline for Allison’s.He slipped through the door, feeling something unwind when he saw Snickers asleep on the bed. 

He sat down carefully.Snickers was snoring a little, and it was possibly the cutest thing Ben had ever seen.He sighed.“Do you have siblings, Snickers?”His voice was a little wet.“I don’t understand how they can be such idiots, but I still miss them _so_ much—“He coughed.“I wish I could just, like, cry into your fur right now,” he admitted, a little embarrassed.

“We could try,” a quiet voice said at the door.He looked up.Klaus was standing there, Dave nowhere to be seen.“I could—I could help you pet him, at least.”

Ben sniffed.“Sorry, I just—”

“I can’t imagine it’s easy to watch all of us fuck up our lives,” Klaus said, sitting beside him on the bed.Snickers cracked open one eye, but apparently decided Klaus wasn’t a threat and went back to sleep.Klaus paused.“I’m sorry,” he said.“I should have—I’m not apologizing for the way I’ve lived my life, because that was the only way I was going to make it this far.But I’m sorry that you had to see it, and I was your only contact with the world and wasn’t better at it.

“And for what it’s worth,” Klaus continued, “the only reason I didn’t try to get sober when you were around is because you were _around._ If I could only summon you when I was clean—I probably would have done it a long time ago.”

Ben bit his lip, trying to not burst into tears.He was just starting to realize that his family was finally finding their way back to each other, and this time, there was little room for Ben.ALl he had was Klaus, and Klaus had Dave now too. 

“Okay,” Klaus said, obviously trying to lighten the mood.He was squinting, his face scrunched up tightly.He looked like a total idiot, but Ben wasn’t about to say that and ruin the moment.“Let’s do this.”

His fists started to grow blue.Ben reached out, and all of a sudden, he was stroking Snickers.

He couldn’t feel anything, but he could imagine how soft Snickers’ fur would feel under his fingers.Snickers let out a chirp and pushed into his hand, seemingly unbothered by being petted by air.

Ben withdrew his hand and turned towards Klaus, who was looking confused.Ben used his moment of solidity to pull Klaus against him in a tight hug.Just for a second, Ben let himself pretend he could hug his siblings whenever he wanted. 

~

“Hi,” said Five, appearing in the seat Ben had been sitting and reaching out for a breadstick. Ben grimaced and left the seat.

“ _Jesus Fucking Christ,”_ Diego swore, jumping about a foot out of his seat. Vanya walked in from the living room.“I told you not to scare them like that.”

“You’re back!” Allison squealed, stating the obvious.Vanya smiled at the sound of her voice, letting Allison embrace her in a tight hug.

Klaus, unperturbed, kept eating his pizza.“You sat right on Ben, Five.” 

Five’s cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk’s.“Forry, Ben,” he said, chewing as he spoke.

“Where have you two been?”Luther asked.

“Training,” Five said.“Vanya has shown remarkable growth in her control—” Vanya beamed “—so we decided it was okay to come back.”Five was tan, and Vanya had the slightest sunburn across her cheeks.They looked relaxed; Five was even wearing a pair of jeans. 

“What about the Commission?” Allison asked.“Are we still in danger?”

“They’re lying low,” Five said.“I think we’re okay for now.”

~

Ben decided to take a walk that night, feeling content as he could possibly be with all of his siblings under one roof and not trying to actively kill each other.They were safe, for once, and Ben felt himself relax a little.

He was so relaxed, in fact, that he barely noticed walking through someone sneaking away from the house.He squinted, and saw short, angled blond hair and a dark suit. _Cha-cha._

“ _Fuck,”_ he swore. 

He sprinted back towards the mansion, frustrated with how far away it seemed.If he was going to be a ghost, God could at least have thrown him a bone and allowed him to teleport like Five.

Of course, when he entered the house, none of his siblings were anywhere to be seen. He sprinted to Klaus’s room, praying he’d find his brother—even if he found any of his other siblings, it wasn’t not like he could actually warn them.Thankfully, Klaus was propped upside down on his bed, glaring at Dave who was slouched in the corner.“It was a _horrible_ movie, and if you had any taste you’d know that.”

Dave rolled his eyes.“Ben, tell Klaus that _The Sound of Music_ isn’t sentimental nonsense, and that, in fact, it’s one of the greatest films of all time—“

“We’ve got trouble,” he interrupted.Dave stood a little straighter, and Klaus rolled over, pushing himself off the bed.“What?” Klaus asked.

“I just saw Cha-Cha outside, and she didn’t look like she was coming for tea.You need to tell everyone, Klaus.”

Klaus nodded and scrambled off the bed.He was barefoot as usual, and shirtless, wearing a pair of polka dot palazzo pants he’d definitely stolen from Allison.Ben hoped this situation didn’t get too serious, because if Klaus died he’d be stuck wearing that stupid outfit for all of eternity. 

**“** _Guys,”_ Klaus shouted,“Guys!” 

“ _Shut up, Klaus,”_ Five’s voice carried from the next room.

“Guys!We’ve got trou—“

There was a sudden boom, and the house trembled.“—ble.”

There was an ominous crash somewhere else in the house.“Klaus, you need to go, _now,”_ Dave said. 

“Okay, yeah, I just.”Klaus whirled toward Ben, hands glowing.“Can you go make sure everyone else is okay?” The earth become a little firmer beneath Ben’s feet, and his skin started to look bluer and more transparent.Klaus had turned, tossing covers around frantically.“ _C’mon, I just saw you,”_ Ben heard him mumble as he turned to check on his siblings. 

The problem with being solid was that he couldn’t just go through the walls like he normally would.Ben stumbled into the hallway, briefly loosing his footing as the house shook again.It was all too reminiscent of the night Vanya had murdered Mom and Pogo, and Ben prayed he and Klaus could keep their connection long enough that Ben could help again if needed. 

Five’s room was the closest, but it was empty; Ben assumed he had already teleported outside to address the immediate threat.Next was Luther’s room—he ran in to find Luther sitting up groggily, the heavy wardrobe tipped over next to him.“Are you okay?” Ben asked.

Luther stared.“Am I dead?” 

“No, Klaus is powering me right now.But you need to get out of here before you do get killed.”

“I’m getting _really_ tired of our houses getting blown up,” Luther said, grabbing onto Ben’s outstretched hand and standing slowly.He shook his head as if to clear it.“The others?” 

“Klaus is making his way out, and I think Five is already outside.I’m not sure about everyone else.” 

Allison’s room was empty, but they ran into Vanya, stumbling down the hall. The house shook again, and Luther grabbed her as she lost her balance.Immediately, she jerked away, and Luther winced, but kept tugging her down the stairs.Ben took a second to look in Diego’s room, only to find it empty, before booking it down the stairs. 

When Ben made it outside, he looked around, checking on his siblings.Five was sitting on top of Cha-cha, who looked unconscious and not dead, given that her hands had been tied with Five’s tie.Ben would have been proud of Five’s emotional growth, but he was pretty sure Five had kept her alive to try to get information rather than any sudden empathy.Allison was standing beside him, looking unhurt, but she had her jacket clutched awkwardly to her chest. It almost looked like it was . . .moving.Ben squinted, concerned that she had somehow also developed the ability to summon monsters from her stomach, but she caught his eye and smiled, pulling her jacket aside.Snickers popped his head out, letting out a pathetic mewl.There was a bang, and then Diego burst through the kitchen window.

“Do you not understand what doors are?” Allison asked.

“Concrete was blocking the exit,” he responded. 

“Wait,” Luther said.“Where’s Klaus?Ben, you said he was on his way out.”

“Shit,” he swore, whirling around.Klaus was nowhere to be seen.“He was with Dave, he said he was leaving—“

Luther glanced back towards the house and squared his shoulders.“I’ll go find him—“

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a mighty boom as the house collapsed in on itself.Ben felt the tether keeping him physical snap, making him invisible once more.That only meant one thing: Klaus wasn’t able to keep the connection up.Ben stared into the rubble, praying that his brother was okay.

“Ben?” Luther asked.“Ben? _Shit.”_

_“_ Ben, if you’re still here,” Allison said, “see if you can find Klaus.We’ll work on getting him out from the outside.”Luther and Diego were already sifting through the rubble without any discernible pattern, while Vanya carefully blasted waves to break up the brick.Five had been right; her control had grown so much, even in a short time.Five himself was zapping around, presumably looking for Klaus—there was a dead look in his eyes, and Ben couldn’t imagine the flashbacks he was having. 

He took a deep breath and headed into the rubble, leaving his siblings behind.He made his way towards where Klaus had last been.“Klaus?Klaus!”

“Over here!” a voice shouted. _Dave._ Ben made his way to where he could hear Dave shouting, glad he could walk through physical barriers once more.When he finally found Klaus, his heart sank.Klaus was covered in dust, pinned by a fallen beam.There was blood foaming around his mouth.One pupil was shot, staring vaguely into the distance, but the mostly normal one swiveled to look at Ben.“This is karma, you assholes.”His voice was faint.

Dave looked up at Ben desperately.He was flickering in and out, looking more translucent; with Klaus fading, it was harder to keep corporal.Ben could feel himself starting to fade a little, and he had a lot more practice at staying outside of Klaus’s power.“Is there help coming?”

He nodded.He could faintly hear the rubble shifting around, and was thankful they weren’t at the Academy, which would have taken days to sort through. 

“Guys,” Klaus coughed.Dave was growing more and more translucent as more blood dribbled out of Klaus’s mouth.Ben thought about Klaus’s stupid pants and laughed hysterically. “I don’t think I’m doing so hot.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, baby,” Dave said as he faded away.

~

“I left for _two weeks,”_ Five snarled. 

They were piled into a private ER waiting room.His siblings had managed to find Klaus before he’d stopped breathing, and they’d managed to get him to the hospital.Now they were just left, waiting; even name dropping the Umbrella Academy hadn’t convinced the scary looking nurse to let them back with Klaus.Everyone was pale and silent, except for Five, who luckily everyone was mostly tuning out.Someone had given Allison a duffel bag to put a squirming Snickers in, and he was hiding in the bottom, occasionally poking his head out of the opening.

Ben supposed he could have followed Klaus, but he was too afraid to go without his siblings, even if they had no idea he was there. 

The door opened slowly, admitting a haggard looking doctor.He looked at them, eyes somber, and Ben felt dread curl in his stomach.“You’re Klaus Hargreeves’ family?” he asked. Vanya nodded.Allison was clutching onto Luther’s arm so hard it was probably going to bruise even Luther’s body.Diego’s chest was hitching—not crying, but probably on the verge of a panic attack the same way he’d been when Mom had died.Patch was nowhere to be seen; Ben supposed she was still there, because he didn’t go away when Klaus was gone, but she was newly dead and making yourself corporal without Klaus to use as a battery source was a hard skill.Five was still, unflinching—he was used to seeing them dead, Ben supposed.

“I’m Doctor Harrington.“I was the one operating on your brother.I’m sorry to tell you, but—”

“No—“ Diego started, but the doctor shook his head.“We did everything we could, but unfortunately his injuries were too severe—”

Everything froze. 

At first, Ben thought: this is what happens to me when Klaus is really, truly gone.But then he realized: _he_ was still moving, but nothing else was.Tears were beginning to crest over Allison’s eyes; Diego looked like he was right behind her.Luther looked lost. 

But Ben, Ben was still moving.

“Tragic, isn’t it?”a voice said from behind him.

Ben whirled around.The man suddenly standing behind them looked like any office Joe—ill fitting navy suit and bald patch starting to really show.But then he smiled, and a chill ran down Ben’s back. 

“Yes, dear Benjamin, I’m here for you,” he said, answering Ben’s unspoken question. 

“Who are you?”

“I go by a few names.But you can just refer to me as the Handler—it’s more of a title, but that’s what all of my predecessors used.Seems silly to break tradition.”

“What do you want?”

“A simple favor, really.Your brother,” he inclined his head at Five, “really put a wrench in things for my employer.We have a situation that requires some . . .damage control, to put it lightly, and we’re currently understaffed.We could use someone with your abilities.”

“Then why did you try to kill my siblings?”

“Ah, that wasn’t us.That’s a mess of your own making, really.Cha-cha was released from our services; it’s not our fault you managed to spark a grudge in her.Believe me, this is a mutual opportunity for both of us.”

“And that’s true for me how?”

“Well, we’ll save your brother’s life, for one.A quick snap of my fingers and he’s fit as a fiddle.Well, as much as a recovering junkie can be, anyway.But also—there’s no need to stop at one Hargreeves, is there?”

“What do you mean?”  


The man smiled, looking like an oily car salesman.“Let’s just say we’re not unused to bringing people back to life.If you’re interested, of course.”

Ben stared, thinking quickly.He tried to put himself in Five’s shoes: _do what you have to do to survive._ “I have a few conditions.”

“Let’s make a deal.”

~

Ben blinked, and after a lifetime, the same scene was in front of him. 

“You’re Klaus Hargreeves’ family?” the doctor asked, eyes somber. Vanya nodded.Allison was clutching onto Luther’s arm so hard it was probably going to bruise even Luther’s body.Diego’s chest was hitching—not crying, but probably on the verge of a panic attack the same way he’d been when Mom had died.Patch was nowhere to be seen; Ben supposed she was still there, because he didn’t go away when Klaus was gone, but she was newly dead and making yourself corporal without Klaus to use as a battery source was a hard skill.Five was still, unflinching—he was used to seeing them dead, Ben supposed.

“I’m Doctor Harrington.I was the one operating on your brother.I’m sorry to tell you, but—”

There was a quick beep, and the Doctor frowned.“Excuse me,” he said, looking at his beeper and hurrying out of the room. 

The various Hargreeves slowly unwound themselves.Allison turned in his direction, and then did a double take.“Ben?”

“Is Klaus doing this?” Diego asked.“Does that mean he’s okay?”

He could feel the slight chill of the hospital room. 

“Ben, what did you do?” Five asked knowingly.He’d had Klaus’s number the second Klaus had returned from Vietnam; it wasn’t surprising he could do the same with Ben. 

He shook his head, seeing a flash of dark blood.“I’ll explain later.I need some air.” 

He wandered out of the room in a state of panic.He drug his hand along the wall, feeling the scratch of the paint, and nearly hyperventilated until he saw an exit door.He sunk down on a bench, trying to control his breathing— _he could breathe—_ but the tag of his shirt was sticking up, scratching his neck. It was irritating, so he reached up to tuck it in.He ran a thumbnail over his skin to soothe the itch, and suddenly he couldn’t stop.The itching, the sting of his nail, the skin that was quickly becoming irritated—it felt.He _felt._

When he’d been a child, he hadn’t been able to imagine anything worse than the pain of summoning the monsters under his skin.He’d been wrong. 

“Ben?Ben—“

There was a hand around his elbow, tugging it away gently from his neck.He jerked back out of habit, and there was a silent oomph as the person went with him.He’d moved someone—he’d _moved—_

_“Ben.”_ He blinked, aware of Allison standing in front of him.Her voice was raspy, which usually only happened when she’d been talking for a few minutes. She sat beside him, not letting go of his arm.“Are you okay?”

His breathing hitched.“Allison— _Allison._ I- I- I spent _ten years_ where no one but Klaus could see me.Icouldn’t touch anything, or feel anything—“

His breath hitched.Allison cooed at him as if he were a child, and circled her arms around him, bringing him closer until his head was resting on her shoulder.He sobbed like a baby; every time he thought he was going to stop, something like the feel of Allison’s soft hair or the leather of her jacket would set him off again. 

Eventually, he couldn’t keep going.His mouth was dry he’d cried so hard, and Ben reveled in the feeling.Allison pulled back slowly.“Klaus is okay,” she said.“I’m assuming you had something to do with that.”

He shook. “I—Allison, I made a deal with the Commission.I did something I’m not proud of—”

She hugged him again.“We’ll figure it out later.Just be with us, for now.”

Later, the others shuffled out looking for them.The six of them huddled around the bench, everyone putting a hand on Ben as if he was going to vanish again in front of their eyes.He wanted to cry all over again.“I’ve a got a place we can stay.It’s a cabin that’s fairly remote, so we can figure our shit out in peace,”Allison was saying.She sighed, scrubbing a hand over her face.“Let’s just say Leonardo DiCaprio owes me a favor.But Jesus Christ, guys, we cannot destroy this place like we did with two houses in a _month.”_

_“_ Can Snickers come?” Ben asked, suddenly feeling small.

“Who—?” Vanya said.

Allison relaxed, her face softening. She gestured to the duffle bag Diego had brought. “Of course, Ben.But you’re on vacuum duty.”

_~_

Once Klaus was stable enough for visitors, Ben had claimed the chair next to Klaus’s bed.When Diego had argued, Ben pulled the “ _I was dead until two hours ago,”_ card, which he expected would be giving him victory in quite a few fights.Even though he could roam wherever he wanted now, he still felt the need to stay close to Klaus, not quite confident in his ability to wander away. 

When Klaus eventually woke up long enough to be coherent, he groaned at Ben.“I can’t believe they let the ghost take a shift.What if I needed the nurse?”

“You have a call button,” Ben said, grabbing it and offering it to Klaus. 

Klaus looked at the way the button dangled in Ben’s grip.“Am I doing that?Did you get new ghost powers?”

“Klaus,” Ben said, and knocked his knuckles against the railing of the bed.The sound reverberated throughout the room. 

Klaus stared.“You’re . . .here?”

“Yeah,” Ben smiled. “You were, uh, dying, so I made a deal.”

Klaus sniffed.“Oh my god.”

“Can I ask—”Ben hesitated, chewing on his lip.“Why didn’t you leave?” The question had been on his mind since he’d realized Klaus was still inside the house. 

Klaus took a deep breath.“You’re going to laugh at me.”

“I won’t.I promise.”

“I . . .was looking for your stupid cat.He had been in my room earlier.I’m sorry, I couldn’t find him.”

Ben laughed, throwing his head back.“You idiot—“ he chuckled, giddy with the fact that Klaus was still here.“He’s okay; Allison had him.”

Klaus laughed and sat back, staring at the IV draining into his arm.“I want off the morphine.I can’t summon Dave.”

Ben winced.“Yeah, about that—“

“What’d you do?” Klaus asked.It wasn’t tinged with mild curiosity the way Five had said it earlier; it clearly carried a note of _you absolute dumb ass._

_“_ Well—“Ben scraped his toe against the floor.

“ _Ben.”_

He sighed.“So that deal I made—“

**~**

_“Please.Please!”The woman’s eyes widened as Ben approached, stepping over a dead body.He felt the tentacle slipping out, wrapping around her throat.“Please, I didn’t do anything—”_

Ben awoke with a start, covered in sweat.He could feel his heart racing as he frantically sucked in deep breaths.Snickers bolted off the bed, angered at having been woken up.The room was dark, but he could hear Luther’s deep snores and the slight whistling of Five’s breathing—he hadn’t woken up his brothers, at least. 

As his breathing slowed down, Ben slipped out of the room, carefully stepping over Luther. Diego and Klaus and their newly-revived lovers had each claimed a room, and Allison had declared the master suite hers and Vanya’s.That had left Ben and Five and Luther squashed into the remaining room.Objectively, one of them could have slept on the couch in the living room, but the three of them had all been so isolated and touch starved in way or another for so long that no mentioned it.There were two twin beds which left Luther snoring away on an air mattress in the middle.However, if Ben had woken up more than once on the floor with Luther drooling into his hair and Five kicking him in the kidney like a Hargreeves Matryoshka doll, that was their secret to keep.

Outside, the grass felt cool underneath his feet as he made his way to the lake.He sat on the edge of the dock, dangling his feet in the water.His tentacles thrummed happily; they’d come to a mutual understanding since coming back to life.Ben had been skinny-dipping a few times and let them out to swat at at catfish; in response, they’d kept their urge to force themselves out at a minimum. 

After a moment of silence, the dock creaked with soft footsteps, and Diego appeared, sitting down beside him.“This is the first time I’ve seen you without Patch stuck to your side,” Ben teased.

Diego grunted.“I got up to take a piss, and your damn cat stole my spot.”He paused for a bit.“You okay?” he asked.Ben’s siblings had been asking him that about every twenty minutes; he was glad for it, but it was also starting to get annoying.He wasn’t eager to talk about what had happened any more than Five was about his time with the Commission. 

He looked out at the lake.“Getting there.”

Diego smiled, pulling him into a hug.“C’mon, let’s go watch the rest of the Lord of the Rings.We’ve got time, after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at ohlafraise.


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